A weekend in Addis Ababa

December 5th, 2009 by Sami Buisson-Daniel

I’m now sitting at an internet cafe (Right Click) in Addis. We (three volunteers) have been in Addis for the weekend. We had a difficult time getting a taxi out of Asko (where we volunteer) but finally got one that would drive us into the City at 8 p.m. in the evening. There are not a lot of taxi’s in Asko.

We arrived at our hotel called Life Pension (#2) and met up with a past volunteer (Erin who is still vacationing in Ethiopia until the 10th) and two Ethiopians (both named Bobby). The two Bobby’s, Cle (the Chinese male volunteer), Fenke (the gal volunteer from Holland) and myself went to Illusions – a local night club where we spent our time till 5 a.m. They all danced while I sat on the stool and watched people (one of my favorite pastimes). The gals of the night all wear short (as short as they can be without revealing everything) skirts and tight low revealing tops. The Ethiopian women are beyond beautiful with their long hair and dark complexions. They all dress up while the men wear whatever (tee shirts, polo’s, etc). The gals of the night all vive for the men to give them the attention they are seeking. Since the three guys that went with us were not into those women they simply danced, listened to the loud music and had a good time. I must admit the club is so loud that it took me an hour to get my hearing back. I have been to this place three times now and each time I vow not to return – hopefully I listen to my best judgement next time (lol)

The rest of the weekend was spent finding good eating spots. We did locate a great building in the Bole section called “Boston Spa” where there is a book store, a cafe/restaurant called Lime Tree and a great spot to hang for the evening called the Black Rose. There is a spa with good prices on the first floor and basement. The building has about everything to keep me busy for a day. There is even a hotel (but price is beyond my means) on one of the top floors.

As for our volunteering – the kids are learning each day. I can’t get over how they are learning in their own langage and at the same time in English. I couldn’t do that myself!

We do have a schedule for teaching and we stick pretty much to it. Fridays are lessons in English for numbers and math. We teach in the general way plus we use games to entice them to learn in English. One is BINGO so they can recognize the numbers. Each volunteer comes with new ideas and Clev came with an idea to line the kids up by height then pair them into two groups. They stand in a line across from each other (about 10 feet between the two lines and in the middle he puts an object they have to run and grab and return to their line before the other side does. He calls out one number from 1 to 9 (there are 18 kids) and those two run toward the middle and grabs the item. This way they recognize numbers. They can recite up to a hundred and more but we realized they didn’t really recognize the numbers themselves so that’s what we’re working on.

The organization that is running this orpahange/school is trying to raise funds so they can buy a piece of property outside of the area where they can raise veggies, animals, etc. Here in the building they are renting it’s expensive and when the present owner realizes there are foreign volunteers they will raise their rent. It has happened five times in the past. They think the volunteers bring good money in so the rent can go up. There is also a group of pass volunteers trying to raise money for a van so there is transportation for the kids and for the volunteers. As it is now we (volunteers) pay our own way into the City. While it isn’t that costly for most volunteers it is for me because of taking the taxi each way. If a child is sick they must hire a taxi too. Since we’re out of the mainstream it gets expensive for the organization too. Hopefully, this organization will get both ( a property and a van)!.

I’m halfway through my volunteering. The time is going quickly. Each Friday I wonder where the previous week has gone. It’s both good and bad. While I’m enjoying myself I am missing my family. It was good to receive photos of Thanksgiving where two of my kids and their families came together for Thanksgiving. I enjoyed seeing the photos. I still have pangs of sadness that I can’t be with my daughter Dao with the present situation with her first born son Kelvin. I did learn the school will provide a private tutor for him so he doesn’t get so behind. I believe his recovery is slow but at least he’s progressing. They are still concerned about his liver and I heard this week he goes for a brain scan. These are the times I wish I were back home.

I’m not sure what is happening with the rest of the world since I very seldon see or hear news. I have only just seen headlines while using the Internet. Things change but they don’t change – that’s what it seems like to me being isolated as I am.

For all of you out there who have support this effort, you made a good decision. Volunteers are needed and appreciated. The kids are learning and maybe someday one of them will look back and say “I remember when volunteers came and taught me English” Who knows that man/woman maybe come the President of Ethiopia or a teacher. You are the one who makes this possible and I thank you on behalf (or is it in behalf) of the children we’re helping.

I guess it’s time to draw this to an end and head back to Asko to the orpahanage. I’ll try and write next week in this journal.

Sami